Christopher John Barber (born in 1975 or 1976), and usually known as Chris Barber, is a Canadian trucking company operator, and activist who co-led the Canadian convoy protest. He was arrested on February 17, 2022 and released on bail the next day. He gave evidence at the

Public Order Emergency Commission The Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC; ), also known as the Rouleau inquiry or the Inquiry into Emergencies Act was a public inquiry in Canada that investigated the invoking of the '' Emergencies Act'' on February 14, 2022 by the gover ...

in November 2022, speaking about his power struggles with fellow organizer

Pat King Patrick John King (1944 – January 25, 2022) also known as Speedy King, was a Scottish bassist, best known for his association with Manfred Mann's Earth Band. History King was born in Aberdeen in 1944 and raised in Fraserburgh, Scotland. Afte ...

Career

Christopher John Barber is a truck driver from Swift Current,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

who operates his own trucking company, C. B. Trucking Limited.

Activism

Barber is vaccinated against COVID19, but considers vaccine mandates to be government tyranny. He has two

confederate flags The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

hanging in his home, which he described on a

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

broadcast as a "piece of cloth." Barber operates two TikTok accounts ''BigRed1975'' and ''ChrisBarber1975''. Barber describes himself as an "

internet troll In slang, a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, a online video game), or in real life, with the int ...

." Along with

and

Tamara Lich Tamara Lich is a former logistics worker, and a Canadian right-wing activist known for her involvement in the Yellow Vest protests, the Wexit movement, and the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa. Lich was among the organizers of the Yellow Vest ...

, Barber was one of three main organisers of the Canadian convoy protest. In January 2022, he spoke of his ambition to persuade politicians to end vaccine mandates. On February 2, in the context of noise complaints from Ottawa residents, he released the written statement: "Our message to the citizens of Ottawa is one of empathy". Barber was arrested February 17, 2022, near Parliament Hill. Earlier the same week,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

had invoked the

Emergencies Act The ''Emergencies Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures d'urgence) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, ...

, as part of a strategy to end the protest. Barber was charged with counselling to commit mischief, counselling to disobey a court order, and counselling to obstruct police. The next day, he was released from custody, on bail and ordered to leave Ottawa and to avoid contact with Tamara Lich and Pat King. Barber's court appearance is scheduled for September 5, 2023 and is expected to last 16 days. During the November 2022

, Barber spoke of his tension and power struggle with fellow organiser Pat King. He also spoke about his own racist and anti-muslim internet posts. In March 2023, government prosecutors were accused of malice after phone records between Chris Barber and Lich were briefly released online. Content included personal details and business communications unconnected to the convoy protest. Barber's legal team, with support from The Crown, secured a publication ban to protect both his and Lich's privacy. The Crown stated that the data release was an oversight. In April 2023, Barber plea not guilty to the criminal charge of counselling others to disobey a court, based on activities he undertook in February of the same year.

Personal life

Barber is married to his wife, and has a son and daughter. They live in Saskatchewan. He was aged 46 in February 2022.

References

External links

CB Trucking Ltd
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Christopher John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Social media influencers COVID-19 pandemic in Canada Canadian anti-vaccination activists Activists from Saskatchewan People from Swift Current 1970s births Canadian truck drivers Protesters involved in the Canada convoy protest Internet trolls